With the introduction of the new, car-based Nissan Pathfinder, fans of its Xterra sibling don’t need to worry that it, too, will morph into a soft crossover. Engineers for the company have confirmed that the Xterra will remain a body-on-frame truck for many years.

When the Xterra launched for 2000, it was Nissan’s entry-level ute, with the company intending to keep a fully loaded model’s price below the Pathfinder’s starting point. Since then, the Xterra’s price and features have increased, but the Frontier-based SUV has retained a rugged, truckish image and the off-road capability that go with them. Shoppers who want raised seating and five doors but not the abuse of a truck can now buy a Rogue—and they do in droves. We imagine that while a small number of hard-core off-roaders (and people who are hard-core about looking like they go off-roading) will be disappointed that the Pathfinder is no longer ready to tackle exotic locales, the Xterra should meet their needs just fine.